污辱 (wū rǔ) — to humiliate, to insult; to defile, to sully, t… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Strong, literary verb meaning 'to humiliate, insult, or defile' (a person's dignity, traditions, etc.). Heavier and more written than 侮辱 wǔrǔ, and note its third sense: 'to rape'.

verb

to humiliateto insultto defileto sullyto rape

Examples

污辱。
Tā dāng zhòng wū rǔ le wǒ de zūn yán.
He publicly humiliated my dignity.
污辱。
Zhè zhǒng xíng wéi wū rǔ le wǒ men de chuán tǒng.
This behavior defiles our traditions.
污辱。
Tā yīn wèi wū rǔ nǚ xìng bèi pàn le shí nián.
He was sentenced to ten years for raping a woman.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

污wūdefile

辱rǔhumiliate

污 and 辱 both convey defilement and humiliation, together meaning insult.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 汙; 污 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

于

于yú汙wū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 汙 pairs 水 (water) with 于 for the sound; the simplified 污 is a later shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

辰寸辱

辰辰chénhoe
寸寸cùnhand

辱 combines 辰, drawn as a hoe, with 寸, drawn as a hand.

Appears in

Conflict & Agreement Crime & Police

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